Buckboard Bacon (Step by Step)

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Bearcarver

Gone but not forgotten RIP
Original poster
OTBS Member
Group Lead
Sep 12, 2009
45,279
18,182
Macungie, PA
Buckboard Bacon (Step by Step)


NOTE: The following is how I do this particular Smoke. You can do it this way, or many other ways.
I'm posting this in Step by Step form in case anyone would like to follow it.

Prepping (Day #1):
So I started by De-boning the Butts. I never had trouble de-boning a Butt before, but since my Open-Heart Fiasco, my hands were shaking so much I was lucky I didn’t lose a finger while doing that first Butt. So I decided to leave the bone in the second Butt.
Then I Weighed the pieces to be cured.
Then Weigh proper amount of Tender Quick for each piece (1/2 ounce---One TBS per pound).
Rub TQ on first, trying to get it distributed evenly all over the piece of meat it was measured for.
Rub on about 2 tsp of Brown Sugar per pound of meat, and put the piece of meat in the bag.
Note: We fold the top of the bag over, like a pants cuff, so no salt or sugar grains get in the zipper parts.
Any cure that falls off before getting into the bag, I pick up & put in the bag, with the piece of meat it was designated to be with. That will ensure that the proper amount of cure will be with each piece of meat during the curing stage.

Calculating curing time:
The method I use for calculating curing time is simple. I learned it 6 years ago, and it has never failed me. The cure has always gotten to the center of all pieces, and I have never had any that were salty.
Measure the thickest spot of all of the pieces of meat you plan to cure.
Figure how many "half inches" there are in that measurement.
Add 2 to that number. That will be the minimum time that I would cure that piece of meat.
Then I personally like to add 2 or 3 more days to be extra safe (you can't over-cure, but you can under-cure).
Example:
My thickest piece was 2 1/2 inches. There are 5 "Half inches" in 2 1/2".
So that would be 5 Days plus 2 days = 7 days absolute minimum curing time.
Then due to the fact that I wanted to smoke the meat on Monday, I added 3 more days to that number.
So I cured these pieces of Pork Butt for 10 days in my Meat fridge, at 37°.
Note: I Never cure for less than 8 days.

Day #10:
Rinse all the pieces off, and soaked them in cold water for about 15 minutes to remove surface salt.
I cut a slice from the middle of the Thickest piece, and checked the color inside to be sure it was cured to the center.
Then I did a Fry-Test to make sure it wasn't too salty. It was perfect.
So I rinsed the pieces all off again, and patted them dry with a lot of paper towels (Mrs Bear says I should buy a paper towel company!!)
Then (experimenting) I skipped sprinkling the CBP, Garlic Powder, and Onion Powder, and put the pieces on the Grill racks, without touching each other.
I put these pieces in my Kitchen Fridge for the night.
I can no longer carry a rack full of meat down the steps, so I will put it in my smoker for an hour or two at about 150˚, before adding the smoke, to get my pellicle.

Day #11 (Smoking Day---Using MES 40 BT):
7:00 AM-------------------------Pre-Heat Smoker to 150˚.
7:30 AM-------------------------Put loaded rack on 2nd position of my 6 position smoker, with top exhaust vent open fully.
8:00 AM——————————-—Fill 2 rows of AMNS with Hickory Dust & light one end.
9:30 AM———————————-Internal Temp at 101°——Put Smoking AMNS on bottom rack, on left side.
1:00 PM-------------------------Bump heat to 170˚ (Internal Temps were at about 130° at this time).
2:00 PM———————————-Add Apple Dust to half of last row of AMNS to complete smoke.
3:00 PM———————————-Bump Heat to 180° (IT was at 140°)
4:00 PM—————-——————Check each piece, and remove as all were between 146° and 153° internal temp.

Allow to cool to about 100˚ before wrapping in plastic wrap, and putting in fridge for R & R.
Leave in Fridge over 2 nights for best flavor.
Put in freezer for 3 to 4 hours before slicing makes the slicing work much better.
I sliced this batch, and vacuum packed in small amounts, because I only eat a little at a time nowadays, so each pack is enough to go with about 4 or 5 days with my Breakfast Eggs.

Note: I actually used Dry Maple Sugar (Equal amount as the TQ) on one of the pieces, instead of Brown Sugar, and I could not taste a difference.


That's all I can think of right now----Enjoy the Views!!

Bear





Two Small Boston Butts (5 Pounds each)
DSCN2034.jpg





Butt pieces before curing:
DSCN2054.jpg





Small Center slice shows cured to center & fry test showed Zero Salt flavor:
DSCN2056.jpg





MMMMM—Test piece tastes Great—All it needs is Smoke!!:
DSCN2057.jpg





Ready for Smoker:
DSCN2068.jpg





Two rows of Hickory Dust in my AMNS lit & ready to go:
DSCN2074.jpg





Tape doesn’t stick to my new MES 40, so I’m using clothes pins on cables to hold Maverick probes in place:
DSCN2075.jpg





Buckboard Bacon pieces ready for slicing:
DSCN2083.jpg





Slicing BBB:
DSCN2087.jpg





All done slicing. Bacon ends in small bowl on left (A favorite around here):
DSCN2085.jpg





Closer look at Sliced BBB:
DSCN2088.jpg





BBB all wrapped for freezing:
DSCN2096.jpg
 
Last edited:
This reminds me, I am out.

I have 2 butts in the freezer
 
Nice, Bear Looks great Looks like you will be stocked up for a while.

Gary
 
OOPs My bad I looked at the date on the bags,11-24-15
You should get the slowest posting award LOL just kidden
Richie
Likes
 
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Reactions: albin
OOPs My bad I looked at the date on the bags,11-24-15
You should get the slowest posting award LOL just kidden
Richie
Likes

LOL---I didn't say I just did it.
I said I never posted it on here before.
This is the first time I posted it on this forum, and I moved it right in to my "Step by Step" Index, because it's a Good one.
I found it while looking for pictures for another Thread.

Bear
 
LOL---I didn't say I just did it.
I said I never posted it on here before.
This is the first time I posted it on this forum, and I moved it right in to my "Step by Step" Index, because it's a Good one.
I found it while looking for pictures for another Thread.

Bear
Brother I new it was being slow,I have skipped post that I have done knowing a lot of folks seen them.My apologies was not my intent to aggravate or insult you
I am getting ready to do another Lobster and I do not think I will post it
Richie
 
No Problem Richie. I understand the confusion--My fault.
I did this one awhile back, but for some reason I never posted it on this forum.
I couldn't believe it when I saw it.
In fact today I actually got rid of the one I had in my Step by Steps, and replaced it with this one, because I had used Hi Mountain on the other one & it was too salty. I didn't actually get rid of the other one, I just took it out of my Step by Steps, because it didn't deserve it.

And Thanks for the Like, My Brother.

Bear
 
I am getting ready to do another Lobster and I do not think I will post it
Richie


I think you should post it, because I love Lobster.
I never make any, because Mrs Bear doesn't like it, so the least I should be able to do is gaze at yours!! :(

Bear
 
Thanks for the post Bearcarver. I have been wanting to do BBB for literally 3 years now, but while raising little kids is an honor, it also means that I will have NO idea what I will be doing or where I will be ten days after bagging and curing the BBB! Nevertheless things are getting easier everyday, so it's time to dive back in to the SMF wonderland and there's no better way then to start with BBB.

So now I have a decision to make; do I use Pops6927's Wet Curing Brine, or do I use your dry brine method outlined above? Do you know if there a difference in taste? In your opinion, is one method more flexible than the other? I have the pink salt used in Pops recipe AND I have the Mortons TQ like what you use.

Also, as an experiment, you said you didn't use SPOG this time. How'd it compare?

I'd really appreciate your thoughts.
 
Thanks for the post Bearcarver. I have been wanting to do BBB for literally 3 years now, but while raising little kids is an honor, it also means that I will have NO idea what I will be doing or where I will be ten days after bagging and curing the BBB! Nevertheless things are getting easier everyday, so it's time to dive back in to the SMF wonderland and there's no better way then to start with BBB.

So now I have a decision to make; do I use Pops6927's Wet Curing Brine, or do I use your dry brine method outlined above? Do you know if there a difference in taste? In your opinion, is one method more flexible than the other? I have the pink salt used in Pops recipe AND I have the Mortons TQ like what you use.

Also, as an experiment, you said you didn't use SPOG this time. How'd it compare?

I'd really appreciate your thoughts.

Was kinda wondering that myself..
After reading this and some by disco.
 
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